Moscow 1925

Chess games from Moscow 1925

The awarded brilliancy prizes were:
1. Capablanca-Zubarev
2. Reti-Romanovsky
3. Duz-Khotimirsky - Capablanca
4. Romanovsky-Torre

And some other interesting games:
Ilyin-Zhenevsky - Spielmann is an interesting win by this important figure for Soviet chess.
Torre - Duz-Khotimirsky is a beautiful, slowly built-up attack by the young Mexican.
Bohatyrchuk-Zubarev is a very inspired queenless attack.
Spielmann-Romanovsky is a celebration of the power of the pair of bishops. White is not worried by being a pawn down, even in the ending - the bishops more than compensate this.
Torre-Levenfisch shows the downside of losing the exchange ('потеря качества'): Black here sacrifices the exchange to survive White's attack, but in the ending the superiority of rook versus bishop is clearly visible.
Bogoljubow-Verlinsky is a wonderful performance by the tournament winner, a combination of attacking and positional play, after a 'hypermodernist' opening.
Gruenfeld-Yates is a good positional game, which could easily have been played much later than in 1925. Ahead of its time.
In Marshall-Spielmann White goes straight for the Black king.
Rabinovich-Romanovsky has an interesting story. Before the game Romanovsky felt seriously indisposed and he arrived 75 minutes late. (Today this would have meant forfeiting the game.) He had to play very quickly to make up for the lost time, but played very well. On move 17 Rabinovich seemed to be winning and expected his opponent to resign, but four moves later he had to resign himself.
In Rubinstein-Gruenfeld we see another Indian game. Beautiful slow build-up by White.
In Torre-Saemisch Black just commits harakiri and is swiftly finished off.
Bogoljubow-Torre again shows that in the old days the attacking was better than the defending.
In Yates - Ilyin-Zhenevsky White avoids a draw after having been completely lost earlier on, but the Englisman is not rewarded for his fighting spirit.
Rubinstein-Bohatyrchuk is an excellent game by the Soviet-Russian, played in the style of Aron Nimzowitsch.
In Duz-Khotimirsky - Romanovsky we see a nice queen sacrifice by the highest finishing Soviet-Russian.
Reti-Yates is one of my favourite games of the tournament. Brilliant attacking play and a very precisely calculated ending.
Zubarev-Saemisch has a classic ending with a 'distant passed pawn'.
Gotthilf-Saemisch is decided by a nice knight sacrifice by Gotthilf, who was a Soviet-Russian, despite his German name.
Ilyin-Zhenevsky - Reti is a crushing (hypermodern) Black victory. Apparently it was not yet known in 1925 how best to play as White against the opening in this game, which is called 'Alekhine's Defence'.
Bohatyrchuk-Torre is extremely exciting, with two insecure kings. White seems to get crushed, but somehow survives to reach a winning ending.
Ilyin-Zhenevsky - Duz-Khotimirsky is a very wild Spanish game, which could have been an inspiration for Ostap's simultaneous exhibition in Vasyuki, would he have seen it (which he did not, having played chess only once before Vasyuki and therefore probably not knowing chess notation).
Finally, in Capablanca-Bogoljubow we see the World Champion beat the tournament winner in a speculative sacrifical attack, which showed that Capablanca was not, as often thought, only superb as a positional player. It is a pity that when this game was played, the tournament was already decided.

			B	L	C	M	T	T	R	R	G	I	B	R	S	V	L	R	Y	G	S	D	Z		Score
1	Bogoljubow		X	½	0	½	1	1	0	½	1	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		15½
2	Lasker		½	X	½	1	0	½	½	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	0	½	1	½	½	1	1		14
3	Capablanca		1	½	X	1	½	1	½	½	½	0	1	½	½	0	½	½	1	1	1	1	1		13½
4	Marshall		½	0	0	X	0	½	1	1	½	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	½	0	1	1		12½
5-6	Torre		0	1	½	1	X	½	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	1	1	½	0	1	1	1	1		12
5-6	Tartakower		0	½	0	½	½	X	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	1	½	½	½	½		12
7-8	Reti		1	½	½	0	½	0	X	1	0	1	1	½	0	½	½	1	1	1	½	½	½		11½
7-8	Romanovsky		½	0	½	0	1	½	0	X	1	0	½	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	1		11½
9-10	Gruenfeld		0	½	½	½	½	½	1	0	X	1	½	0	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	½	½		10½
9-10	Ilyin-Zhenevsky		0	0	1	1	½	½	0	1	0	X	½	½	1	0	0	½	1	½	½	1	1		10½
11	Bohatyrchuk		½	0	0	0	1	½	0	½	½	½	X	1	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1		10
12-14	Rubinstein		½	0	½	0	½	0	½	1	1	½	0	X	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	1		9½
12-14	Spielmann		0	0	½	0	½	0	1	1	½	0	½	1	X	0	1	½	½	½	1	0	1		9½
12-14	Verlinsky		0	0	1	0	0	0	½	0	½	1	½	1	1	X	1	½	0	½	1	1	0		9½
15	Levenfisch		0	1	½	0	0	½	½	0	½	1	½	0	0	0	X	1	1	½	½	1	½		9
16	Rabinovich		0	½	½	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	½	½	0	X	1	1	½	1	1		8½
17	Yates		0	0	0	½	1	0	0	0	0	0	½	1	½	1	0	0	X	½	1	0	1		7
18-19	Gotthilf		0	½	0	½	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	0	½	X	1	0	½		6½
18-19	Saemisch		0	½	0	1	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	0	0	½	½	0	0	X	1	0		6½
20	Duz-Khotimirsky		0	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	0	½	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	X	1		6
21	Zubarev		0	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	0	0	0	0	1	½	0	0	½	1	0	X		4½

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World champion Capablanca versus tournament winner Bogoljubow